Articles
June 1977
“Stop staring.”
Hermione wasn’t staring, or she wasn’t trying to, but she couldn’t quite tear her eyes away from what was happening before her on the platform.
It wasn’t even bad, but it was just unexpected. A couple of conversations, sure, she could understand, but the pair of them speaking and laughing like they had been friends for longer than a few weeks while their parents watched on just seemed...well she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
She had known Remus since he was eleven, nervous and with a huge secret, and even when they found out, he had never been the sort to act so freely in front of his parents. But there he stood, Hope and Lyall Lupin watching with nervous, if not slightly amused expressions, as he grinned down at Edith freaking Gilbert like this was a normal everyday experience.
And the girl was grinning right back, despite the fact that her father and brothers, they all seemed to have the same nose and grin, stood not two feet away from them.
When the fuck had this even happened?”
She had seen the moment he handed over that book, had seen them speak in between exams and the last few weeks of school – had even seen them speaking in the library but she couldn’t quite pinpoint when this became a thing.
Was it during their little argument? Had Remus sought friendship or something else from another person? If so, why hadn’t he just told them?
“You’re obsessing.” Sirius whispered in her ear, a tinge of annoyance in his voice.
“I’m observing.” Hermione bit back, turning to send him a quick frown. “Shouldn’t you be worried about this?”
“Why would you want me to be worried about this?” A fair question, and a response to something she now wished she hadn’t asked because she wasn’t sure she could manage the idea of Sirius being annoyed at Remus and Edith without thinking stupid things.
“I don’t but well...you two had something and isn’t there like a rule or something?” She asked as they turned away, tugging their trunks behind them as they walked slowly towards where James, Marlene and her mother were waiting.
“Maybe, not that I care – Remus looks happy and I’m not getting in the way of that.” Sirius spoke as though it was obvious and couldn’t quite grasp why Hermione would have a problem with that.
“Of course not.” She responded rapidly before looking over her shoulder as the two friends waved at each other. “I just – are they going out?” She asked as she turned back around to face Sirius as he narrowed his eyes at her.
“Just friends, no need to be jealous.”
“I’m not jealous.”
“Right.”
“Sirius!” Hermione snapped, ignoring the eyes that turned to look at her as she lowered her voice. “I’m not jealous.” She wasn’t, not in the way he was thinking – but she had always found it hard to share her friends with other people, like she was worried they would leave her alone, even if she knew it was ridiculous.
Like some part of her had been left alone and friendless once, and it still lingered, Which wasn’t true but maybe the other Hermione had experienced that, she would never know and for once she wasn’t that eager to find out.
Before she could open her mouth to explain, Sirius was frowning at her, a slight pout to his mouth that made her almost smile. “Then maybe you could stop glaring at her like she’s stolen your favourite book, otherwise what else am I supposed to think?”
“That as your...that since we’ve been going out I have no reason to look at anyone else.” Hermione answered for him as he raised an eyebrow before she leaned forward to run a hand over his jaw with a smile. “I don’t want Remus, I promise that, just you.”
“Disgusting.” James commented from somewhere as she felt her trunk removed from her hand as Sirius smiled softly down at her.
“Flattery will get you everywhere.”
…
A week later
Hermione grinned widely as she opened the door for Lily, pulling her best friend into a bone crushing hug and shutting the door behind her.
A week didn’t seem like must to anyone else, and she could appreciate that, but their group was heavily co-dependent and Hermione had been stuck staring at the same four walls and faces for far too long, having her best friend back was like a breath of fresh air.
Of course that could just be the breeze that came from opening and closing the door, but she liked to think it came from Lily Evans stunning grin and positive energy.
“Has the cabin fever already started?” Lily asked with a small laugh as she leaned away and Hermione groaned, running a hand through her mess of curls. “Didn’t take too long.”
“Cabin fever, inability to spend time with Sirius alone and big brother watching my every move.” Hermione complained lowly as she glared towards the back of the house, where Euphemia was no doubt outside tending to her plants or enjoying the sun, like she hadn’t locked her adult children inside.
Lily laughed lightly, shaking her head. “Poor you.”
“I’m being serious – it’s like every time I step near the front door or Sirius’ my mother or Poppy jumps out from nowhere with some chore to do – I’m surprised she hasn’t -”
“Hermione!” A voice called from the back of the house followed by the door shutting loudly and footsteps, Hermione huffed out a breath and placed a tense smile on her face. “Is that you? Where are you going?” Euphemia called through the halls before she appeared with a worried expression on her face.
“Nowhere mum, I was just letting Lily in.” Hermione sighed back, giving Lily a pointed look who grimaced in commiseration.
She loved her mother, she really did, but the woman was far too overprotective and even more so with the war amping up, even after everything that had been said in previous years.
“Oh..of course, hello dear.” Euphemia spoke, resting a hand on her chest as Hermione raised a brow and Euphemia sighed.
“Though we were hoping to go out – to a Muggle library.” Hermione commented as Euphemia raised an eyebrow and smoothed down her robes with her hands. Despite the actual lack of blood between them, it was a look Hermione had done many times herself.
“We have a library here.” Her mother commented and Hermione had to bite back an annoyed groan, and instead settled for crossing her hands over her chest.
“Mum.” Hermione whined as Euphemia looked at her with a tender amusement.
Hermione loved her library, and it was hers really – James only stepped foot to find her, Fleamont had all his books in his office and Euphemia was happier to be outside with her plants or baking in the kitchen. It was Hermione who spent her time looking through the many books they had.
And she had. For the past few days she had spent her time knee deep in books, looking for another she could related to Riddle and his possible family, but the truth was, well the Potter library was extensive – it wasn’t full of documents about past Hogwarts students.
She had also thought about asking her parents, but Riddle had been at school between 38 – 43, and her parents had been adults by that time.
“Alright – fine but there are rules.”
“One wouldn’t think I was an adult with all these rules.” Hermione commented, a pout on her face as Euphemia scoffed and settled her hands on her hips.
“An adult you may be, Missy, but you are still living under my roof and you will be until you’re thirty.” Euphemia pointed out as Hermione fought a grin and let out a sigh. “Home by seven and you take your brother and your friends with you.” She spoke as Hermione narrowed her eyes.
“Well I wasn’t going to just leave Lily here now, was I?” She spoke with a grin as Lily nudged her shoulder and gave her a look.
“Cheek will get you nowhere – now go wake them up and get out before I change my mind.” Euphemia spoke but there her tone was teasing and her hazel eyes crinkled more as she looked at her daughter.
Despite being not old by Wizard standards, there were signs that age was slowly catching up, in the growing greyness of her hair, and the lines that seemed to sink deeper into her face with every passing year. A woman perhaps too old to have two barely adult children, and perhaps someone instead saw as the typical grandmother.
It made Hermione ache in a way that she didn’t truly want to think about, for losing one parents was enough in her lifetime, and losing parents she couldn’t even remember was slightly scarring, but the thought of ever losing her parents, Euphemia and Fleamont, made her feel sick and scared, like a child.
Which was why they were going to have to live forever.
With quick footsteps she moved forward, wrapping her arms around the woman and placing a kiss on her slightly wrinkled cheek – her mother hugged back even with her confusion, warm and comforting in a way only a mothers hug could be.
“Thank you.” She whispered against Euphemia’s cheek, a soft smile on her face as her mother mumbled something back.
…
“What is this place?” Sirius spoke mystified as they sat around a table, silver eyes scanning everywhere as he leaned back in his chair, arm throw over the back of her own.
“A library, Sirius, you’ve been in one before.” Hermione commented with an amused smiled as he turned to grin at her – hair longer than it had been, scrapping the tops of his shoulders and just itching for her to run her fingers through it before Euphemia made him cut it.
“But it’s so full.” He whispered back as she chuckled and looked around. It was much fuller than the Hogwarts library, that was for sure. “What homework do you think they are doing?” His breath tickled her face as he pointed to the group by them.
Hermione would look if she wasn’t more focused on him, all but pressed against her side and whispering in her ear. Everything had still remained slow, or slower than maybe she would have liked, and it seemed he was determined to kill her and her hormones with his ignorance at the situations he put them in.
For a second she wondered how sturdy the bookcases were, how private and if anyone would really notice if they slipped off for ten to fifteen minutes to just have a little snog.
“I don’t think they’re doing homework.” Lily muttered, rolling her eyes as Hermione flushed and Sirius moved away slightly.
“Then why are they in here – why would anyone choose to spend their summer in a library?” Sirius all but cried, slapping a hand lightly onto the table before them and making Marlene jump from whatever book she had been reading.
“Are you broken – where are we right now?” The blond asked, icy eyes on the boy as she raised a single eyebrow.
“You think I chose to be here?” Sirius asked with a disgusted look as he looked around once more and shook his head while James snorted in what sounded like agreement. The pair of them forced into a library by their friends and Euphemia.
“No, I figured Hermione mentioned something about sneaking away and doing something wicked in between the isles.” If her face wasn’t red before then it was now and it caused Marlene to let out a loud chuckle as their friends and her brothers faces turned to look at her. “Oh she did!”
“No – I did not.” Hermione hissed back, hiding her face in her hands.
“But you were thinking it.”
“I swear to Merlin, Marlene -”
“Sounds like a good idea actually – if you would just excuse us -”
“Sit the fuck back down, Sirius, unless you want me to beat you with this book.” James hissed over them all before Sirius could fully stand, hazel eyes burning their way as Lily let out a small laugh and Marlene smirked.
Hermione could feel her face, hot in her hands and covered with the sign of her embarrassment, not at wanting to do something – she was able to admit that – but more of the point at being called out, and the fact that she was still tempted to go along with it, even as her brother glared at her like he knew what she was thinking.
Like he wasn’t thinking the same thing when he looked at Lily over the top of the newspapers he had before him. Hypocrite.
Before she could open her mouth to speak, there was a gentle coughing and a chorus of giggles from the next table over. A girl stood before them, perhaps a bit older than them, pretty features and short brown hair, her eyes looking over James and Sirius as she blushed.
“Sorry – I was just wondering – well we were wondering -” Hermione narrowed her eyes as she looked over to the girls friends, amusement creeping at the edges as Lily did too. “If perhaps – well we haven’t seen either of you in here before and well – would you perhaps want to come and sit with us.” A clear invitation to the boys only, and one that had Hermione rolling her eyes.
“I think we are fine here, thank you.” Hermione snapped out, Sirius chuckling quietly beside her as his hand moved to tug on a curl.
“Oh well -”
“Thanks for the offer though.” Lily spoke with a sweet yet cold smile, turning towards the girl and flicking her hair over her shoulder before looking back to James with what could only be called a coy look.
Guilt wracked over her body as the girls face fell as she watched James turn star eyed over Lily’s attention. “You two – you’re together?” She asked, her eyes flickering to Hermione and Sirius, as the boy seemed to pull her closer – a confirmation if she ever saw one.
James’ grin fell and Lily winced slightly before turning back to the girl. “Maybe one day.” Her cheeks turned as red as her hair but she held her gaze on the girl who nodded, and turned back to her friends and their table.
They watched her go, muttering to her friends about them, one looking over with a fierce glare before she coughed something into her hand that had their brows raising.
“Did she just call me a slag?” Lily asked, seeming amused as she turned back to her friends, Hermione couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement. Lily was the least slaggy of them all, but she supposed it was hard for the Muggles to see that.
“I think she did.” Marlene commented, seeming more annoyed as she glared at the girl.
“Like she’s one to talk, coming onto people in a library for Gods sake, does she have no self respect – or the ability to do what other people do and assume based off of...things?” Lily spoke, gesturing between them all like it made sense. “I mean three girls and two boys, chances are there are some couples, even more so with them two fondling each other over there.”
Hermione blushed and narrowed her eyes as James looked over to them sharply. “What?”
“There is no fondling happening.” Hermione spoke, gently pushing Sirius’ hand off of her thigh where it had been resting gently, nothing fondly about it, purely innocent.
“At least if Remus was here then we would be able to push him onto them.” Marlene commented as she looked back down at her book, frowning at something. “Any of you heard from him?” She added as Hermione sighed and leaned back against her chair.
“Only to say he took his potion and a quick update.” She spoke softly, pouting slightly as Sirius pulled on another curl. “I thought things were better.”
“They will be, but we don’t know what his mum and dad might have heard – you know they can be a bit...strict.” Sirius spoke softly, almost directly to her but everyone seemed to have heard as they sunk slightly in their seats.
It didn’t feel quite right without him with them, no one to join her in the library, no one to ease the ways of James and Sirius or discuss things with Lily. It had been the six of them for long enough to feel his distance when he wasn’t there.
And receiving small letters did nothing to ease that. It wasn’t like he wasn’t able to come, he could apparate as well as any of them whenever he wanted, he could enter their home or he could even ask them to meet him somewhere, but it was more like he didn’t want them around him, not right now.
A thought that pained her more than she wanted to admit.
…
The library grew quieter as time passed, their books and documents leading to nothing more than...well nothing, and Sirius and Marlene growing bored enough to go and explore as many shelves and weird books as they could.
Hermione rolled her eyes as she looked up to the second floor, open and giving her ability to see as the pair of them laughed at some kind of book like a pair of children, unaware of the scathing looks they were getting from some old woman that sat nearby.
It seemed so easy for them to forget the reality of their world, to slip into a childish mood that entertained and annoyed everyone around them. Hermione wondered how long they would have before the pair of them started getting loud and begging to go home.
James moved beside her, a loud cough leaving his throat as he looked over his paper and then to her, he didn’t say anything as he moved around the table to sit in Sirius’ absent seat, gesturing for Lily to follow as he shoved the paper under her nose.
“What -”
“Read.” He hissed out, tapping the headline as Hermione frowned.
Family murdered or scared to death?
In the village of Little Hangleton, Yorkshire, two days ago – a family of three found dead in their home.
For most, this may not seem like a strange story, a simple murder – but there have been some details that have left the police stumped and people talking.
The three in question were Thomas and Mary Riddle (late 60’s) and their son Tom Riddle (40’s), a very prominent and rich family who owned a large manor and were said to be rather unfavourable within their village. Now many would take that as someone had finally had enough and murdered them in a jealous and cold rage, but that doesn’t seem to have been the case.
The maid that had found them had seemed terrified as she ran down the street, screaming for everyone to hear and bringing the police back to the house, where the bodies still laid. There were said to be no injuries, no force entry into the manor, nothing to suspect foul play, yet all three bodies laid with matching looks of terror on their faces that suggest what they might have seen seconds before they died was a rather terrifying sight.
Police are still looking into suspects, they have taken the maid, Patricia, and the caretaker, Frank, in for questioning and more details are set to be released soon.
The only question people seem to have is whether this was a murder or whether the family was indeed scared to death.
“What the fuck?” Hermione mumbled out as she read over the paper once more with a frown. As a witch she had a fairly good idea of what might have happened. A quick spell that would put someone down without any Muggle being able to tell what was actually involved.
“I thought – I thought Tom was Voldemort.” Lily spoke with a frown. “Unless this is his dad – would that make him junior? Do you think he did this?” The questions stumbled from her before she could stop them it seemed.
“It’s possible to both of them – James is there -” Before she could speak another paper was placed before her, the old one taken away and shoved into her bag. Normally she would scold him for daring to even go into her things but she couldn’t find the words right now.
"Read."
Murderer of rich family found
Updates on the murder of the Riddle family were finally released to the public yesterday morning.
As previously recalled, the Riddle family of Little Hangleton were found dead in their home with matching looks of terror on their faces and police stumped as to how they could have been killed.
As of now there has been one person who has come forward, a member of the village named Morfin Gaunt, who had claimed to be responsible for the murders – he has not given any information as to how and has been taken into custody by the law enforcement.
According to the town, Gaunt was a man who had lived in the area for a long town and had had some problems with the law in the past. He seemed to not care of what he had done and was spotted being taken, spewing nothing more than hisses and laughing.
But at last the people of Little Hangleton can finally put it to bed and move on with their lives, though there is no mistaking that the village will probably never be the same.
“I feel like I know that name.” Hermione whispered with a frown, she would push harder against the itch in her brain but she didn’t exactly want to be passing out in a library. “Gaunt...Gaunt...”
“They’re a part of the Sacred Twenty Eight.” James muttered to her as he took the next newspaper to shove in her bag. Hopefully the library wouldn’t notice their petty theft nor care that they were missing, though she had to admit that keeping their papers was a rather ingenious move.
Hermione frowned before she nodded her head. “Of course.”
“Why would he kill Muggles?” Lily hissed as she pulled a chair up to Hermione’s other side, emerald eyes quickly looking to where their friends laughed over something else, a book open before them.
“Pureblooded bastard with a vendetta – nothing we haven’t heard before.” James answered darkly, shaking his head in disagreement. Another reason why the Potter’s weren’t on the Sacred list, they disagreed with murdering of Muggles.
“It doesn’t make sense – so you’re saying Tom’s family and this Pureblood family lived in the same town?” Lily asked suddenly, her eyes lighting up slightly as Hermione and James narrowed their own.
“What are you saying?” Hermione asked as Lily grinned slightly.
“That you said Tom was halfblood, and we know he has a hatred towards Muggles – what if this was the reason why.” She spoke as though they all existed inside her head and with the ability to read her mind, she seemed to see that as she rolled her eyes. “What if these Gaunts are Tom’s other family?”
Hermione frowned, the itch in her head slightly maddening but still not enough for her to try and press against and find answers, but still she couldn’t help but grin slightly, but before she could speak James was already. “You think he’s the way he is because Gaunt murdered his dad?”
“What if Gaunt murdered his dad because of him?” Lily asked, raising an eyebrow. “Think about it, some girl with some of ‘purest’ blood, ends up having a baby with a Muggle, ruining their social standing – some shit happens in the middle and then this Gaunt has a chance to end the man that ruined them…”
“There’s a lot more we would have to dig on, but I think you have one hell of a theory forming there, Lil’.” Hermione grinned, sure the story wasn’t pretty but there was something telling her they were taking a step in the right direction.
“Hey guys, did you see this?” Sirius shouted, breaking their moment as he all but ran towards them with a book, Marlene behind him.
“Shush.” Someone hissed from their seat as Hermione cringed.
“I think it’s time to go.” Hermione spoke softly, rising slowly from her seat and sending meaningful looks to her brother and Lily.
“Oh but we were just starting to have fun.” Marlene cried but there was a grin on her face that told Hermione she was happy to get out of here. Sighing dramatically she moved towards the door. “Fine.”
Hermione rolled her eyes, following behind them as the group ducked through the door, only stopping as she came face to face with a woman, older than herself and with something that made Hermione stop and stare at her.
“Sorry.” The woman muttered, blinking large eyes at her and pushing frizzy brown hair off of her face. There was something oddly familiar about her that made Hermione want to reach out and wrap her arms around her or to run away. “You ok?”
Hermione blinked, raising a hand and frowning at the slight wetness there, before she stepped away from the woman, pushing away the strange tears. “Yeah, something in my eye – erm...sorry.” The words seemed to fall off her tongue despite the strange choking feeling in her throat.
“It’s no problem -”
“Hermione!” Marlene’s voice shouted from the door, the pair of them turning towards her as Hermione reached for the door, frowning and looking away from the woman before her – and the man that had just joined them, familiar brown eyes.
She didn’t speak, couldn’t but perhaps if she had remained longer then she would have heard them speak.
“Hermione? Strange name.” The man spoke as they watched the girl meet her friends, the darker skinned boy frowning at her in concern as she shook her head and gave him a soft smile.
“I like it.”
“Of course you would – you and your Shakespeare.” The man commented with a laugh as he wrapped an arm around the woman.
“Possible contender.” The woman spoke as the man laughed loudly, flushing and calming down as the few remaining people turning to look at them as they drifted towards some seats, frowning at the stacks of books someone seemed to have left behind.
“Naming our future children again?”